Vacuum cup



Mak. 13, 1923. 1,448,690 P. c. HETZER ET AL l VACUUM CUP Filed Feb. 18,1922 Patented Mar. 13, 1923.

UNITED 1,44aa PntI-:lNTjolr'rlcls.A

.PAUL C. HE'IZER ANDANTN HETZ'ER, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Applicationk led February 18, 1922.. Serial'No. 537,416.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we,- PA,UI: G.Hni'nn and rlLN'roN l-lnrznn, both`citizens .of thev United States, and both residingat Chicago,

inthe county of Cook and State olf-Illinois,

v have invented certain` new and useful Improvements in Vacuum Cups,.ofwh-ich the following is a specification.'

This invention pertains to avacuum cupv designed primarily for use inthe feeding of sheets of paper in a kprinting press, although theinvention is applicable to other uses in which it is desired to employsuctionrfor the feeding of thin sheetsv of materials suchl as paper,cardboard or sheets offmetal which must be lifted successively from` apile or stack and fed one at a time therefrom.yk ln the feeding of suchthin sheets of materials, and especially the feeding of sheets ofpaper,`

ydifficulty has heretofore been experienced in:

' securing a uni-form and reliable suction by reason of inequalities inthe stackingof paper, so that it is not alwayspossibleto advance thesuction cup in perpendicular relation to thek surfacey of the sheet ktobe acted upon7 which will occasionally present its surface in obliquerelation to the cup. This is particularly true where the cups aredesigned to act upon. the sheets of paper or the like close to the edgeof zthepile, which may be somewhat depressed as compared with thesurface at `the center of thel pile'. Furthermore, difficulties aresometimesexperienced by reason of slight imperfectionsY in the rim ofthe cup which maybe worn or nicked, so that a perfect suction Will'notgbe maintained, or possibly by irregularities Figure l is a sideelevation ofthe cup and'y `mounting of the present invention;v

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation ofthe same Fig. 3 is a top or plan viewofthe'mounting; and f Fig. 4 is a cross sectional elevation taken on theline 4 4 of Fig.r `2,. f

The cup l0 is formed offrubber orlike resilient material and is ofwidely' `flaring tion thereto.

bell shaped configuration provided around itsrixn with an annular,yflange or bead lf for initial contact with the sheet to be acted upon.At a point considerably within the interior vof the cup is an. innerannular flange or shoulder 12 which serves -to'i'nsure sec# ondaI-ycontact with the' sheet, the surface of which will ordinarilybe drawn orsuc'- tioned up into the interior of the cupto a slight degree after theinitial contactis effected. The initial contactv also serves to spreador extend the rim of the cup so as tobringl the inner shoulder moreclosely to thevgenera-l surface of the pile of sheets be-y neath thecup.` c

, The4k cup at its upper end terminates in a 'flaring neck 13 which'enters the shouldered outer end 14 of a stemv l\5, and bears kagainstthe tapered outer end of a clincher nipple 16,l

the. upper rimof' which bears against an annularlange 171, the partsbeing clamped and sealed by f the action of a jam nut 18 threaded intothe shouldered outerend of the stein and having an inner reduced bead orange 191 whichv engages the cupbehind the upper .fiaredj neck thereofland forces;-

the sameclos'ely against the beveled end of the clincher nipple 16,'y y

rlhe stem l5 isprovidedY slightly below its extreme yupper end with an@outstanding flange 20 which on oppositesidesk ispro vided withsemi-circular recesses 2l which slide upon the inwardlyprotrudingportions of` a pair of oppositelyk disposed guide pins: 22which are housed within the kwalls of a centrally bored kcasing23provided at its lower end with an inturned lip 24 through which theguide pinsare tightly entered, and which?l lip vfits snugly against' theouter surface of the stem 15. The lip provides a shoulder which carriesa lower Washer 25`coacting with an upper washer 26,4 the upper washerbeing notched in alignment with the notches. or Cuts in the flanges toslide upon the guide pins in` closely sealed rela- The casing 23 isclosed at its upper endsr by means of a: plug 27 which is` threaded intoand vabuts against an upper annular shoulder 28, the plug terminating ina nipplev 29i threaded on its interior 30 and squared f on its outersurface 31 to receive a y'wrench or the like; The nipple is designed tobe secured onto a pipe or tube which is'c'onnected witha vacuumA pumpror the like, not ShWIl.' i f The plug has inwardly extending therefrom atubular guide stem 32 which fits closely within the bore in the outerstem 15, and a coil spring 33 encircling the guide stem serves to exerta light spring pressure on the cup and associated parts permitting thesame to yield, however, when any substantial pressure is encountered.The body of the casing is squared or angled on its extreme endat thepoint 34 to receive a wrench or the like which facilitates the adjustingcreasing spring pressure on the paper surface, causing a flaring of therubber cup until all portions thereof are brought into sealing contactwith the paper surface, ir-

respective of irregularities therein. This sealing effect will beincreased by the drawing of the paper surface within the cup untilContact isv effected with the inner bead or shoulder, so that a perfectseal will be effected, irrespective of irregularities in the stacking ofthe paper or from other causes.

The sealing arrangement provides an easy sliding fit between the outerstem and the guide stem, the guide pins serving to permit thereciprocation of the two members with respect to one another withoutpermitting any relative rotation thereof. rIhe method of packing thesliding surfaces is one which affords a complete seal and at the sametime permit easy reciprocation of the members with respect to oneanother, and the yielding of the spring enablesa seal to be effectedunder light contact, so that ordinarily sheets of freshly printed mattermay be lifted and fed without smearing, which is of substantialimportance in the art to which the present invention pertains.

We claim:

1. In a pneumatic sealing device, the combination of a cup, an outertubular stem which carries the cup, an inner tubular stem upon which theouter stem is slidably mounted, a spring bearing against the outer stem,a casing surrounding the inner stem and the upper portion of the outerstem, and coacting guide members on the casing and the outer stern forpermitting recession of the outer `stem within the casing, substantiallyas described.

2. In a pneumatic sealing device, the combination of a cup, an outertubular stein which carries the cup, an inner tubular stem upon whichthe outer stem is siidably mounted, a casing surrounding the inner stemand the upper portion of the outer stem, co-acting guide members on thecasing and the outer stem for permitting recession of the outer stemwithin the casing, and a spring within the casing encircling the innerstem and bearing yagainst the outer stem, substantially as described.

3. In a pneumatic sealing device, the combination of a cup, an outertubular stem which carries the cup, an inner tubular stein upon whichkthe outer stem is slidably mounted, a spring bearing against the outerstem, a casing surrounding the inner stem and the upper portion of theouter stem, and guide pins carried by the casing and engaging the outerstem for permitting reciprocation thereof, substantially as described. p

4.' In a pneumatic sealing device, the combination of a cup, an outertubular stem which carries the cup, an inner tubular stem upon which theouter stem is slidably mounted, a casing surrounding the inner stem andthe upper portion of the outer stem, guide pins carried by the casingand engaging the outer stem for permitting reciprocation thereof, and aspring within the casing encircling the inner stem and bearing againstthe outer stem, substantiallyas described.

5. In a pneumatic sealing device, the combination of a cup, an outerstem to which the cup is secured, said stem being provided near itsupper end with an annular flange, a casing provided at its lower endwith an inturned lip snugly embracing the outer stem, a packing carriedby said lip for sealing the outer stem within the casing, a pair ofguide members caried by the casing and engaging the flange on the outerstem, a packing carried by said flange, a plug closing the upper end ofthe easing and provided with a depending inner stem telescoping into theouter stem, and a spring encircling the inner stem and bearing againstthe outer stem, substantially as described.

6. In a pneumatic sealing device, a flexible cup of bell shapedformation centrally perforated through its head and provided with aperipheral lip, and further provided at a point distant from the lipwith a low annular inner bead or ange forming a secondary sealing devicearound the mouth of the perforation, substantially as described.

7. In a pneumatic sealing device, a iieXible cup of bell shapedformation centrally perforated through its head and provided with aperipheral lip, and further provided at a point distant from the lipwith a low annular inner bead or iange forming a secondary sealingdevice around the mouth of the perforations, a tubular stem to which theperforated head of the cup is secured, a casing within which the stem isslidably mounted, and a spring interposed between the casing and thestern for holding the latter in outwardly projected position andallowing inward recession thereof under pres- 5 sure, substantially asdescribed.

8. In a pneumatic sealing device, a cup of bell-shaped formationprovided with a peripheral lip and provided at a point distant from thelip With an inner bead or ange forming a secondary sealing device, atubu- 10 lar stem to which the cup is secured, a spring bearing againstthe stem, a casing Within which saidv stem is slidably mounted, andsealing members sealing the stem in sliding relation to the casing,substantially 15 as described.

PAUL C. HETZER. ANTON HETZER.

